Fletcher: Inching Toward the Big Time

According to trainer and promoter Eddy Millis, middleweight prospect Jaime Fletcher (Pictures) can do it all. If you want a fighter who can stand toe-to-toe with his opponents and bang, Fletcher's the guy. If you want a fighter who can hang with the best grapplers while on the canvas, Fletcher has that covered as well. Millis is beyond sold on his fighter and expects nothing but greatness from him.

"Seriously, Jaime can do it all," Millis told Sherdog.com in a recent interview to promote his upcoming Invincible 4 card. "He's one of the few guys in this sport who is very, very good at every aspect of the game. Whether it's on the ground or on the feet, Jaime can do everything and he does everything well. And I'm not saying this because I train him or because he's fighting on my show; that's the truth. Jaime is for real."

So far in his still-blossoming career, Fletcher has only tasted sweet victory. He has fought professionally in mixed martial arts just five times, but each time out; save for one battle, Fletcher has whipped his foes. As it stands right now, Millis is correct.

"I do feel like I have all the tools necessary to really make something out of this," Fletcher told Sherdog.com in a recent interview. "I train with some of the best guys in the world and I've been doing this for a long time. To me, it doesn't really matter where the fight winds up because I can adapt to any situation. If it's on the ground, my jiu jitsu is good enough where I'll either submit you or sweep you to get back to my feet. And if you stand with me, I know I can knock you out."

While it seems like fighting professionally has come easy for Fletcher thus far in MMA, he'll chuckle and say otherwise. As with virtually anybody who has ever stepped foot into a cage or ring or even onto a martial arts academy mat, he used to be a virtual rag doll for the more experienced cats in the gym.

"Man, I've been doing this since about 1999 and when I first started doing it, I couldn't even make it," Fletcher said with a laugh. "When I started training here at Eddy's gym, this was back when his gym had everybody in there who fought. So when I'd train, I'd get my ass kicked literally every single day. I remember one day I got choked out by some fat cop and I was like, 'so that's a guillotine.' But you know how it goes; in order to get better you have to always train with people who are better than you and over time, I learned to hold my own."

Once Fletcher learned to hold his own, it wasn't long before he started competing. Fletcher got into kickboxing and competed in the K-1 circuit and eventually slipped over to MMA where he believes he'll eventually be fighting for the big boys.

"We actually get phone calls for him quite a bit," revealed Millis. "He's a guy who can submit you in the blink of an eye and he can knock you out. He's scored some awesome submissions and he has some brutal head kick knockouts, too. People are starting to notice him and that's evident by who's been calling. We've recently been contacted by ProElite and StrikeForce and we're working on putting something together to show the UFC. I have no doubt in my mind that he'll be fighting for the major organizations."

But for now, Fletcher is content with fighting in the smaller shows and earning his stripes. Though he feels he's just about at that point in his career to take that next step, he knows that patience is a virtue.

"Right now I feel like I can take that next step but I'm fine with being patient," Fletcher admitted. "There have been some bigger shows lately that have shown interest and I know that eventually I'll be fighting in the elite shows against some of the best fighters in the world. But for now, it's all about learning everything I can and being the best fighter possible. I feel like I am getting closer and closer to where I can fight the A-level guys and [fight] for a title, but for now, I just want to keep getting better and better."

Things will start becoming more difficult for Fletcher as his career progresses, obviously, especially with the talent-laden middleweight division. Jaime understands that it'll be foolhardy to tangle with the likes of the two world champions of the 185-pound class right now, as both men aren't champions for no reason.

"Man, I don't know what it is, but Anderson Silva just seems to get hated on a lot," a puzzled Fletcher said. "He is just so great at what he does and he's so relaxed. I don't see a flaw in his game, really, as he does everything so perfectly. He's just amazing to watch. And then there's Dan Henderson (Pictures). Man, I went up there to Team Quest and had the chance to train with him and geez... let me tell you he's no joke. That man is scary. I know I'm not ready for either one of those two."

The most important aspect of his current mindset, though, is not if he's ready for either Silva or Henderson but instead if he's ready for opponent Jesse Juarez (Pictures). Fletcher is scheduled to meet Juarez in the main event of the Invincible card at Ontario Convention Center in Ontario, CA this Saturday.

"I'm ready for whatever he brings to the table," a pumped Fletcher stated. "I know he's got a strong wrestling background so I expect him to just keep shooting in over and over and over. And that's fine with me because my sprawl is excellent. But if he does wind up taking me down, like I said my jiu jitsu is great, too. Most of my fights end really quickly and I don't know if his cardio is as good as mine, so I'll just keep wearing him down. Honestly, I don't see this fight lasting too long."

If Fletcher does wind up taking out Juarez early, he might just be fighting for the big boys sooner than later. And if he keeps making his fights look as easy as they've been lately, who knows? Maybe champions Silva and Henderson will have to start taking notes.